


Breaking the Seige

by tehhumi



Category: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-26 22:51:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20397451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehhumi/pseuds/tehhumi
Summary: With Imladris once more safe after driving back the threat from Angmar, Celebrian helps her husband relax a little.





	Breaking the Seige

**Author's Note:**

  * For [senalishia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/senalishia/gifts).

The army of Angmar had finally been driven away from Imladris, but that did not mean that Lord Elrond could rest easy. They would return soon, perhaps bolstered by Rhuadar. Even if they did not, he was not going to leave his allies - and distant nephews - in Arthedain to fall victim to a rebels and sorcerers. But it was not yet the moment to ride out leading armored cavalry and proclaiming the army of the elves had come to the aid of the Edain. As wonderful as the image was, Elrond knew he simply did not have enough warriors. So he sat down with a stack of parchment to think. 

Elrond heard someone else enter the library, but he ignored it. Very few would dare disturb the Lord of Imladris at his work; none in fact outside his family members and the captain of the guard. Whoever had entered would find their book and leave. He was slightly surprised that anyone else in the valley was inside, given that the siege of the valley by Angmar’s army had been broken mere days ago. 

Elrond’s children, he knew, were taking full advantage of the spring weather and the freedom to explore again. Elladan and Elrohir had joined Glorfindel scouting for traps the enemy army might have left behind. Arwen had packed a lunch and headed straight up the mountainside, to a peak with a wonderful view that was also dangerously exposed. That left virtually no one who would disturb Elrond as he composed a letter requesting aid from King Amroth of Lothlorien.

So the hand on the back of his chair was a surprise, as was the body in his lap a moment later. He still finished the sentence before looking up.

“Celebrian?”

“Hello, dear.” His wife smiled at him over her shoulder.

“I am writing a letter.”

“So you were.”

“It's a very urgent letter, and I must get back to it.”

“Is it now? And hereI thought Glorfindel had said it would be at least two weeks before we were certain enough of the roads to send any messengers.”

“True, but I want this message ready to go out the very first hour it may.We need reinforcements.”

“Is this a letter to King Amroth then?”

“Yes.”

“The same letter you’ve been rewriting every spare hour you get for the last month?”

“Amroth is old and very formal, I need to be clear on the etiquette.”

“Cirdan is far older, and you wrote his letter in an hour.”

“Cirdan understands that Angmar will want ports, and Lindon is directly in their path to the sea. And Cirdan still goes by ‘Captain,’ he has no love of ceremony. Amroth trusts the Hithaeglir to stop an approaching army, and was crowned King of Lothlorien before we’d left Mordor.”

“And your comfort with Cirdan is totally unrelated to not taking on titles.”

“I’m Lord of Imladris, is that not a title?”

“Of course, my husband founded his own realm but otherwise has no claim to any tities at all, I don’t know what I was thinking of.”

Elrond sighed and glared at the paper. “Honestly that’s half the trouble with this letter. A message from Queen Elwing’s heir to a Sindarin lord is completely different from one between Noldorin and Sindarin kings, which is different again from one between two Sindarin Lords.”

“Is that why you have an etiquette guide to Doriath’s court on the desk? I thought no one had followed that in over an age.”

“No one has, but Noldorin and Sindarin armies haven’t cooperated for any lesser cause than defeating Sauron in at least that long.”

“This is at least as urgent, even if the Witch-king is less of a power on his own.”

“I agree, but Amroth won’t. A man with stolen power is less frightening than Morgoth’s own lieutenant. And the last time Noldor and Sindar fought together, Amroth’s father died.”

“I see why the letter is difficult. You do understand the letter’s not a life or death matter though?”

“I’m requesting soldiers to defend our land when we are not strong enough on our own. It could not be more literally life and death!”

“Slow down and think. What will happen if offend Amroth in writing the letter?”

“We will do battle with our own forces. We may clear the roads for a season, but come next winter we’ll be sieged, if we hold out that long. Perhaps a fighting retreat to Lindon.”

Celebrian twisted to look Elrond in the eye. “No, that’s not what will happen. Amroth will send aid, or lead an army himself, and they will be rude to you the entire time they’re here.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“My parents are high in his court. Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel advocating for aid to their only child and their grandchildren will work, even if Amroth doesn’t believe himself in any danger.”

I don’t want us to be constantly sniping at each other either. Look at what poor cooperation cost us at the Dagorlad.”

“So don’t command Amroth him to come or insult him to his face and it will be alright.”

“I’m not sure…”

“Look, how many times have you written that letter?”

“The first few were more drafts…”

“How many times?”

“At least a dozen.”

“And are you going to think of a new approach in the next hour?”

Elrond sighed. “Probably not.”

“Then put down your quill and come outside. It’s spring and we can finally go for a walk without worrying about being shot at, that seems worth celebrating.”

Elrond set down his quill, but made no move to stand up. Such a move would be difficult with Celebrian in his lap in any case. “I’d rather stay inside, actually.”

“Why?”

“I know that Angmar’s armies have retreated, and this is not a feint. We spent the last week making sure that every inch of the valley was clear; I wouldn’t let our children out there if I had any doubts about their safety. But I can’t stop looking over my shoulder, or truly relax.”

“You think that on a walk through the fields with you beautiful wife, you’ll have attention to spare looking for shadows? I clearly need to be better at distracting you.”

“Celebrian - Arwen is out there!”

“There a quite a few hidden groves around the valley where she rarely visits, I think we could find some privacy.”

“Arwen is halfway up the east mountain face - you can see the whole valley from there, including straight down into every single clearing.”

“Fine then, but if you’re going to be grumpy and hide away inside we should at least do something useful rather than wasting paper.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Some of the books are getting worn. I believe Erestor keeps a stack of the ones that need recopying in the next decade before they become illegible. I can read, and you can copy it down.”

“Alright.”

Celebrian stood up and walked over to the chief librarian’s desk. Elrond took the opportunity to jot down a note about how the son-in-law of a king’s chief councilors could request reinforcements. Celebrian noticed, but still took her time searching through the books for an appropriate one. A history of Gondolin, while doubtless important, was unlikely to improve Elrond’s mood, or her own.

By the time she made her selection, Elrond had moved his drafts out of the way and taken out a fresh stack of book-paper.

“It will be rather difficult or me to write if you sit on my lap again.”

“I have faith in you.” Still, she sat on his left thigh rather than dead center. “I can repeat things as many times as you need. Are you ready?”

“Of course my lady.” He smiled, as did she, and they began.

  


The book Celebrian had chosen was a collection of folksongs from the Men who lived in eregion in the middle Second age. The first two songs were simple enough, about the beauty of the hills, and the joys of a warm hearth in mid winter. By the time they got to the third song, they had established a rhythm where Celebrian would sing each couplet, then pause or Elrond’s quill to catch up. 

"I met a lass upon the downs, her hair was bright her eyes were brown, and when I talked that lass around, I could not tell you up from down,” Celebrian sang. “I spent the day with that sweet lass, her dress looked lovely on the grass, and there far from the mountain's pass, she showed me-"

“Celerbian! How am I supposed to copy the book properly if you make things up?”

“I am not making anything up. This is a traditional song of the men of Eregion.”

“That seems unlikely.”

Celebrian leaned over to show hi the book. “It’s right here. I’m not too surprised you haven’t heard similar songs, you are after all a great lord and the Men around here are all cautious of you. But this type of song is really quite common.”

“Even if it is, I don’t think it needs to be in a scholarly account.”

“The songs people sing about daily life are just as important to our understanding of history as the songs of great deeds.”

“This isn’t an everyday song though, it’s - borderline pornography.”

“Only because you stopped me before we got the fourth verse. It crosses the border quite quickly.”

“Why did you pick this book in particular?”

“You wanted to do something inside, and the book needs recopying. Our children are out enjoying the fresh air, as is most of the valley. You don’t have to worry about your reputation being ruined by singing dirty songs with your wife.”

“Alright. But sing more slowly please? I can’t write quite that fast.”

Celebrian sang more slowly, indeed practically crooning. In retaliation, Elrond began moving his arm with far more dramatic flourishes, brushing up against her bosom more than was really necessary given their position. 

At the end of the song, Elrond said, “The next one?”

Celebrian wiggled in his lap as she reached over to turn the page. 

Disappointingly, the next song was about the beauty of the countryside, though Celbrian sang it just as sweetly. The song after that was about a farm girl falling in love with a soldier passing through town. The insinuations about his large, sharp sword and her familiarity with fertile fields weren’t particularly subtle, and Celebrian made sure to emphasize them. The song after that was a fishing-related metaphor for sex.

“Is the whole book like this?”

“I don’t know I haven’t read it yet,” celebrian replied as she got more comfortable in Elrond’s lap. “When we’re done, then we can decide.”

“But the book wasn’t in a stack labeled ‘dirty songs’ or ‘inappropriate ditties’?”

“Other than the lass on the downs, none of them have been that dirty.”

“You just sang ten stanzas about how when catching catfish, you may get wet and muddy, but if you hold on tight and stroke them just so, the catfish will be pleased and do whatever you wish!”

“That one’s half true! Catfish will go limp if you tickle them, and are much easier to catch then. I suppose you could use a line and hook, but that’s tricky with bottom feeders.”

“I’m not asking for fishing advice, I want to know why there’s so many bawdy songs in here.”

“I think the bawdy ones stick in people’s memory better. And if you forget some of the words, you can easily enough make up new ones on the same theme to fill in the gap.”

“Why are there so many bawdy songs at all?”

“Well,” she said with a smile, “Not everyone pines for a thousand years and looks at no other. Some people think about their bodies and other people’s bodies quite a bit.”

“I am well aware of what people think of with their bodies, as you well know. But none of these songs are suited to wooing, or to the bedchamber.”

“O course not. People sing these songs around their friends, or in the town pub.”

“In public?!”

“Well yes, it would be rather hard for a historian to record any other songs.” Celebrian paused. “Dear, do you really mean that you never learned anything about sex between when you were sat down to learn where little elflings come from and our wedding night? Because if so, I have a long overdue compliment for you on your creativity.”

Elrond blushed. “No, I did learn some things. Soldiers gossip, though of course rarely accurately. Mostly it was in Gil-Galad’s library. Though a lot of the collection was histories and poetry, there were also some romances and some of the poetry got quite risque as well. I steered clear of the ones that were both romance and history, after the first time my great-grandmother came up.”

“Oh yes, I’ve heard some of those renditions of the Lay of Luthien.”

“But the books were not right at the entrance, and you were emphatically encouraged to take them out of the library for, ah, research.”

“Sometimes I forget how Noldorin you are, and then something like this comes up.”

“Excuse me! I think you’re at least as Noldorin as I am.”

“Maybe by blood, not by habit. I’m sure a well stocked library worked well for you, and for Lindon, I just doubt it works other places as well. Tell me, how many of the Noldor o Lindon could read?”

“Why, all of us, or nearly so. I think there were a few who refused to for a time out of extreme anti-Feanorian sentiment, but they relented after a bit.”

“I think perhaps half of Lothlorien can read. Many of those who can go their whole lives never writing, or reading, anything but letters to relatives in the Greenwood.”

Elrond was aghast. “But surely - your mother - she wouldn’t stand for anyone being prevented from learning!”

“No one’s prevented, it’s just not a priority.” celebrian shrugged. “You can conduct most of the business needed to run a kingdom without writing, if people have training and experience at their positions. How full the storerooms should be to get through a harsh winter or a gentle one is just as easily taught to an apprentice as written in a book.”

“But literacy - it’s practically the foundation of society!”

“To you and I as knowledge and history obsessed Noldor, maybe. To the Sindar who love to sin, there are better ways of remembering things. And Silvans care for the trees, and reckon time by a sapling growing to a giant of the forest. It works well for them.”

“What does Sindarin literacy have to do with dirty songs?”

“As far as I can tell, most Men don’t see much importance in literacy either. So the information and entertainment you found in books has to come from somewhere else.”

“In public though?”

“A song that’s never sung in public isn’t very useful for teaching. You don’t pull open you robes in the middle of the hall of course, but you can hear some things that make fascinating images to recall later in private.”

“You seem to be speaking from firsthand experience.”

“That’s right, as a half-Noldo you never got invited to the fun bonfire nights.”

“Aren’t you half-Noldo as well?”

“My mother doesn't count, she did her best to become a Sinda. You meanwhile were the Noldor King’s herald. A lot of the Sindar considered unbearably stodgy.”

_ “Stodgy?!” _

“Always writing everything down, always wearing half a dozen layers. You turned down all invitations to go swimming or hiking - you did so very politely, but you did. And someone who wore so much jewelry would certainly not risk losing it climbing trees or wandering hillsides, to say nothing of leaving it unattended to swim.”

“I can’t believe it!”

“You were!”

“I was considered flamboyant and rash by Gil-Galad’s old councilors - obviously signs of my poor upbringing.”

Elrond - and on rare occasions Erestor - was the only one who could make jokes about his upbringing. “Regardless, we didn’t think you’d appreciate the bonfires, and bonfire songs. I can’t say we were that far wrong.”

“Surely they weren’t so ribald? I mean, with elves there’s only so far we can go...”

“Actual physical behavior was quite proper. But we sang the most interesting songs we’d heard or written. If you got ‘overwhelmed by emotion’, you stepped outside the firelight for a time. We were all light-blind enough that it was nearly impossible to see, as long as I remembered to do up my buttons before walking back.”

“Celebrian! What if there had been someone walking in the woods?”

“The parties were generally in the same few glades, so those who wanted to come, could, and those who didn’t could stay away and find something else for their young children to do. And we would have heard any Men a mile off, plenty of time to get out of their path.”

“So you’d announce hey, we’re all going to listen to pornography, anyone want to come?”

“A bit more politely, but yes. A summer revel.”

“Huh. I always assumed those were complete myths.”

“Noldor tell myths about Sindar singing songs?”

“We know Sindar sing. In Lindon, it was generally thought that ‘summer revels’ was code for orgies.”

“And you married me anyway.”

“I was pretty sure they weren’t true, and I didn’t have any claim on your behavior before we married if they were.”

  


By the time they had transcribed half the book, Elrond’s mood had lifted. “Thank you, this has been relaxing.”

“I’m glad.”

“But I’d like to get up now.”

“Hmm, I don’t know. You might go back to pointless worrying if I leave you alone.”

“I won’t.”

“Yes you will.”

“It’s not like I really need to do anything else at the moment; Anmar has been repelled and we can’t ride out anywhere for weeks yet. I can go back to writing the letter.”

Celebrian nodded. “Of course. And since the siege is over, we’ll be getting new supplies soon.”

“Yes, as soon as the pass of Caradhras clears.”

“So I can tell the servants to restock the kitchen and bedrooms with the herbs and linens that were borrowed for the healing wing. We’ll just be in and out, you’ll hardly notice a thing.”

“What! It will take months before we can get more cloves from Harad. And we still need five beds ready at all times - the breaking of a siege is the most dangerous point. And last week the mint stocks -”

“The garden has mint coming in quite well, and only one greenhouse froze over the winter, even using less firewood. But you obviously know the state of the infirmary supplies better than I do.”

“Of course I do, I’m the chief healer.”

“So we should walk through the herb garden together and make a list, with what we need to reserve for medicine and what we have enough of to cook with, and anything we can afford to trade when the roads are open.”

“Alright, as soon as you get off my lap.”

Celebrian did, and gave him a quick kiss before picking up a wax tablet and stylus.

They did not in fact go to the herb garden first. Instead they went to the infirmary, and Elrond recorded on his own tablet exactly how much of each herb they had on hand, and how many rolls of gauze, and how many bottles of miruvor. He knew much of it by heart already, but he would never forgive himself if they ran short on something vital and were forced to slow bleeding by a tourniquet instead. Perhaps he simply had an overactive dislike of amputations, but they were rarely medically necessary, and could be rarer with the proper equipment.

There was no one presently in the infirmary, all injuries from the last skirmich having already been tended too and warriors recovering in their own quarters. This was probably a good thing, as the inventory was very thorough, probably more so than had been done any time in the past century.

Celebrian alternated between helping and hindering. She called back on the contents of cupboards across the room accurately for the most part, but if Elrond didn’t pay attention he’d find himself writing ‘1 jar of smelly soap’ in place of lye. Her other comments such as “What would we even use this much aethelas for, I could wrap up every elf in the valley like lembas,” and “So that’s where Elladan’s spare boots went, he’s been looking for them all year,” were also unhelpful, for anything except the two of their moods.

But by the end, they had a complete inventory, and Celebrian reclaimed several sets of sheets. If travelers came to the valley who were _ not _critically injured, they frequently found the healing wing disquieting in it’s sheer silence. Thick stone walls and tapestries on the ceiling meant that a conversation at one sickbed would not echo down the hall, but at the same time they muffled birdsong and the general noises of an inhabited house. Couple that with how much more quietly elves walked than men, and Celebrian had on more than one occasion had a visitor asks her whether the wing was haunted, for they saw figures pass by who left no sign of their passing.

So making up the beds in the guest house would be useful. All the elves from the outlying arms had come into the main castle during the siege, but they would return home again in the coming weeks. And when they did, the dwarf-friendly rooms would have to have their bed frames returned from storage, and the mattress that had been tied together last fall would have to be separated and aired. Why exactly a dwarves who disliked the smell of elves came to Imladris Celebrian would never know, but they did, and she would not be such a poor hostess as to make it clear their housing was used as emergency overflow. 

Celebrian put aside thoughts of straightening up the house, as most of them would have to wait for the number of inhabitants to decrease. In the meantime though, everyone needed to be fed. 

  


Celebrian and Elrond walked through the gardens. They were in better shape than Elrond had expected. The fields that produced the majority of the food for the valley had been untended, but it was barely past last frost; planting would be delayed by only a few weeks. The herb garden, growing near the walls of the main house, was flourishing.

Elrond chalked most of it up to good luck, but by the time he got to the far end where even the finicky basil was thriving, he began to be suspicious. 

“Celebrian?”

“Yes dear?”

“The herb garden is in good shape.”

“That’s good.”

“I mean very good shape.”

“I have been watering it.”

“With enemy soldiers on our doorstep?”

‘We’ve mostly kept them out of the valley, and Men can hardly see at night. A half-hour a day didn’t get me shot. The weeding, I’ve unfortunately had to neglect.”

“How did I not notice until now?”

“You’ve been running yourself ragged, and sleeping deeply. I watered while you were discussing the guard changes with Glorfindel in the mornings.”

“And here I thought you were just an early riser.”

“I am, otherwise the trick wouldn’t work so well. You can calm down though; I checked with the guards each morning, and didn’t go out if there’d been a hint of activity in the night.”

“So half my guard has been lying to me.”

“Of course not. I always made sure to walk back towards the kitchen afterwards. The lady of the valley checking on its defense before she starts her day should be expected.”

Elrond felt awkward. “I’m sorry if I made you feel that it was out of your control. Even when I wasn’t leading the army, I’m used to the army being alone in battle, not accompanied by a whole city.”

Celebrian kissed his cheek. “True, but an army marches on its stomach. I’ll leave the battle and healing to you, and Captain Glorfindel, but the valley needs to keep running come what may.”

“Right. We’re going to keep it.” Elrond thought of all the places throughout his life that had been dramatic last stands or abandoned in necessity. Probably this was a bad habit to plan for that.

“That we will. Now that the herbs are inventoried, do you want to walk with me through the orchard and see if we lost any trees?”

“If we are, they will take longer to replace.”

“So we should try to go a decade or so before we’re besieged next.”

“Which means the letter to Amroth -”

“Will be more complete if we ask for any saplings Lothlorien can spare at the same time.”

Elrond sighed. “True. Onwards to the orchards?” He bowed and offered her his arm.

Celebrian smiled and took it. “Of course. Walking with a handsome ellon like yourself is a delightful way to spend an afternoon.”

The orchards were mostly intact. It helped that Angmar’s army had only briefly entered the valley itself, and had spent most of the winter simply watching the paths out of the mountains. There was still a carpet of leaves form last all that had never been cleared away, and fallen branches from winter snowstorms, but no deliberately felled trees. It was perhaps also a blessing that the attacking army was Men, not orcs. They wished to conquer Imladris as much as to deny it to Elrond’s people, and they would need to eat as well when they did so.

It was still a long list of things to be repaired, and a few saplings had frozen as they had not been prepared for the winter, but there was no reason this autumn’s harvest would not be as large as ever. 

Elrond says as much, and Celebrian smiled at the first optimistic thing she’d heard from him all day. 

That led naturally to the fields, which were too vast to look over in detail in just one day. But celebrian went to the edge of the field, and dispatched any gardeners she could find to check the conditions of the soil, and see what each crop would need to be prepared. Elrond was perhaps less necessary for this, as his knowledge of plants was more to their use than their growth, but he had no wish to leave Celebrian alone now that he could think of things other than how to repel the next attack. 

  


When the bell for supper tolled, Elrond looked up at Celebrian and said, “You tricked me.”

“I don’t see how.”

“Getting me out of the library.”

“I didn’t think I was being very subtle about getting you away from that letter.”

“But you got me outside the house.”

Celebrian looked smug. “Alright, I admit that was a little trickier.”

“I said I wasn’t able to relax outside when the threat’s barely passed!”

“And you didn’t. You helped me inventory the gardens, and checked your sightlines who knows how many times as we did it.”

“Once every five minutes.”

“See? Nothing happened, and you would’ve had warning if it did.”

“I still don’t like it.”

“Dinner is in the hall, you can have nice solid stone around you while we eat.”

“You mock me, but I’ve never been shot at when I could see stone in every direction.”

“And I’ve never been shot at in a field of vegetables, and I doubt you have either.”

Elrond found he could not technically protest the point, as all the battles he’s been in had either been in woodlands or land where the people had fled years before. “That doesn’t mean it can’t happen.”

“I’ll keep my eyes out for evil eggplants, but first let’s eat.”

Later in the evening, after they had retired to their rooms, a question occurred to Elrond. “If I hadn’t wanted to go out when you suggested it, what then?”

“I would’ve checked the gardens while you did the storerooms, or we’d both check the storerooms and I’d say as much as I could about the gardens from memory, just like you did with the healing stores.”

“Thank you for not pushing.”

“And here I thought I was being _ very _ pushy.”

“You would not have insisted, or ordered, or provoked. I’ve had worse responses when dealing with my discomfort.”

“I’m sorry for that.”

Elrond shrugged.

“Does that mean you want to go to sleep now, or are you full of pent up energy after being cooped up inside for months?”

He smiled, “I don’t know, what does being full of pent up energy get?”

“A lecture on how you should have run around the woods naked earlier,” Celebrian said with a straight face. “Or if you prefer, a way to burn off energy without going anywhere near trees or open spaces, or even leaving this room.”

“While I’m certain that such a lecture would be very educational, let’s try option two.”

“As long as it won’t scandalize your delicate sensibilities.”

“I think I can withstand the indecency, even if we don’t write it down.”

“Are you sure? A journal could make quite entertaining reading, I could bring it with me next time I have to travel…

Any further suggestions Celebrian might make were muffled by Elrond’s lips on hers.

  


A/N: By my math, Elrond is 3/32 Noldorin by blood and Celebrian is 1/8 (or 4/32) Noldorin by blood, unless you have _ very _unusual theories about ancestry for Nimloth or Celeborn.

If you notice any errors about the Legendarium, please let me know and I’ll fix them! 

If you spot any inaccuracies about fishing or gardening, I would just like to say that the Lord of the Rings happened very long ago, and the behavior of animals has evolved in the ensuing millenia. 


End file.
